Recent ICAC Cases
One of the two property vendors, charged by the ICAC for offering a $30,000 bribe to an estate agent for waiving a $155,000 agency commission in relation to the sale of a residential property, was sentenced today (July 3) after entering a guilty plea at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts. The other vendor earlier also pleaded guilty to the charge.
Tse Wai-ling, 35, today pleaded guilty to one count of offering an advantage to an agent, contrary to section 9(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. She was sentenced by Principal Magistrate Mr Don So Man-lung to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for three years, and fined $5,000.
Leung Kee-ming, 48, was earlier sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for three years, and fined $5,000 after pleading guilty to the above charge of offering an advantage to an agent.
The court heard that at the material time, Leung engaged Centaline Property Agency Limited (Centaline Property) to sell a residential flat on Lantau Island. According to the estate agency agreement signed with Centaline Property, Leung agreed to pay one per cent of the property transaction sum as agency commission to Centaline Property upon successful transaction.
After subsequently securing a potential buyer for the flat, an estate agent of Centaline Property informed Leung that an offer of $15.5 million had been made. Pursuant to the estate agency agreement, Leung was required to pay an agency commission of $155,000 to Centaline Property upon successful completion of the transaction. The estate agent subsequently arranged for the two vendors and the buyer to sign a preliminary sale and purchase agreement (the preliminary agreement) on December 24, 2023.
Tse admitted that she offered a bribe of $30,000 to the estate agent on December 23, 2023, one day before the scheduled signing of the preliminary agreement, to waive the agency commission to be charged by Centaline Property for the property transaction.
The estate agent rejected the bribe and reported the matter to Centaline Property on the same day. Centaline Property rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Gigi Ng.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Hong Kong Police Force (Police) launched a joint operation codenamed “Double-edged” on Tuesday (June 23) to crack down on a crime syndicate controlled by members of the local football circle, resulting in the arrest of 19 individuals. The syndicate is suspected of operating an illegal bookmaking ring involving both local and international matches, including World Cup matches, as well as bribing football players to fix match results in local games for illicit profits.
The syndicate’s illicit activities were revealed during an earlier ICAC investigation into another corruption case involving match-fixing. Following thorough investigations, the mastermind and backbone members of the syndicate were arrested. The arrestees include a serving coach and serving and former football players from local football clubs.
Nine arrested by ICAC for local football match-fixing corruption
The ICAC arrested nine men aged between 22 and 49 during the operation, and one of them was also arrested by the Police. Among the nine arrestees are two coaches, one from a First Division of Hong Kong (First Division) club and another form a Hong Kong Premier League U-22 League (U-22) club, and one of the duo also acted as a betting agent. The remaining arrestees are seven football players: six who play for three First Division clubs, and one who is a footballer-turned-betting agent of the syndicate having played for various clubs across different divisions
The arrestees are suspected of breaching the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance by fixing the results of local football matches through bribery to enable the bookmaking syndicate to make profits.
The ICAC investigations revealed irregularities in at least four First Division matches in the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons, as well as a U-22 match in the 2025/26 season. While the coach and the player acting as betting agents are suspected of collecting bets for the syndicate, a portion of these bets was allegedly used to bribe other football players to fix matches in local games so that the syndicate could profit from the match results.
During the operation, search warrants were executed by ICAC officers at various premises, including the residences of the arrestees. As the relevant corruption investigation is still ongoing, the ICAC will continue to probe the matter thoroughly and does not rule out further enforcement actions.
Illegal gambling den raid by Police, 11 arrested for bookmaking
During the operation, Police officers from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau arrested nine men and two women, aged between 24 and 58, for “conspiracy to commit bookmaking” and “betting with a bookmaker”. Among the arrestees were five core members of a criminal syndicate and six gamblers, including active local football league players. Searches were conducted at an office and the residences of the arrestees, leading to the seizure of a small quantity of betting slips, $120,000 in cash, a laptop, and other electronic equipment.
Investigations revealed that the mastermind of the syndicate created multiple accounts across illegal gambling websites. These accounts were entrusted to associated football players, who managed finances and accepted illegal bookmaking bets from acquaintances, including individuals within the football community. The illegal betting activities covered both professional and amateur football matches, locally and overseas, at various levels. The syndicate had been operating for approximately two to three years, handling an estimated total of over $6 million in illegal bets. Police believe that the joint operation has successfully dismantled the criminal syndicate and cut off its sources of income. The operation remains ongoing, and further arrests have not been ruled out.
Safeguarding sports integrity through ICAC’s “three-pronged” anti-graft strategy
The ICAC has always strived to maintain local sports integrity through a three-pronged anti-corruption approach comprising law enforcement, prevention and education. In addition to robust law enforcement, the ICAC has launched the Integrity and Corruption Prevention Guide for National Sports Associations (NSAs) to help enhance the governance and internal controls of NSAs.
The ICAC continues to organise integrity training for footballers playing at different divisions, particularly young football players, to instil positive values. The ICAC is grateful to the Football Association of Hong Kong, China for providing expert assistance in identifying suspicious match-fixing activities in various matches.
ICAC and Police do not tolerate any illegalities
The ICAC does not tolerate any corrupt attempts to undermine the integrity of the local sports community or the Hong Kong society. Corruption will be fully investigated by the ICAC. If members of the public suspect any corrupt practices, they should report them to the ICAC immediately.
With the quadrennial World Cup currently underway, members of the public are reminded not to be influenced by peers or the tournament atmosphere into participating in any illegal gambling activities. Under the Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148), anyone who unlawfully engages in bookmaking commits an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a maximum fine of $5 million and imprisonment for seven years. Even if a gambling website is based outside Hong Kong, citizens who participate in the operation of such websites while in Hong Kong may still breach the relevant ordinance. Meanwhile, anyone who places a bet with a bookmaker, regardless of whether the bet is placed within or outside Hong Kong, commits an offence. Upon conviction, offenders are liable to a maximum penalty of a $50,000 fine and imprisonment for nine months. Members of the public are urged not to defy the law.
The Police and the ICAC today (June 10) laid charges against seven individuals (five men and two women, aged between 33 and 60) and two companies with a total of 25 counts of offences, including manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, “money laundering”, attempting to pervert the course of public justice and tax evasion in relation to the fire which broke out at Wang Fuk Court on November 26, 2025. The two cases were mentioned at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts this afternoon.
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is highly concerned about the Wang Fuk Court fire, including the relevant criminal investigations. Following the disaster, the Police and the ICAC swiftly set up the largest joint investigation task force in recent years to conduct comprehensive investigations in full swing within just six months into the causes of the fire and possible corruption in the major renovation project of the residential estate, arresting a total of 35 individuals to date.
Following thorough investigations by officers of the joint investigation task force and legal advice from the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Police and the ICAC today laid charges against seven individuals and two companies with a total of 25 offences. The Police charged three men and two companies jointly with five counts of manslaughter. Meanwhile, the ICAC charged five men, two women and two companies (including the three men and two companies charged by the Police), with a total of 20 offences, including conspiracy to defraud, “money laundering”, attempting to pervert the course of public justice and tax evasion.
The seven individuals played different roles in the major renovation project of Wang Fuk Court. They include directors and Registered Inspector of the project consultancy firm, and directors of the main contractor. The two companies charged are the project consultancy firm – Will Power Architects Company Limited (Will Power), and the main contractor – Prestige Construction & Engineering Co., Limited (Prestige) involved in Wang Fuk Court’s major renovation project.
The Police’s prosecution list:
1. Ho Kin-yip, then director and Technical Director of Prestige;
2. Ng Yeuk, then director and Registered Inspector of Will Power;
3. Wong Hap-yin, director of Will Power;
4. Prestige; and
5. Will Power.
The ICAC’s prosecution list:
1. Wong Hap-yin, director of Will Power;
2. Hau Wa-kin, director of Prestige;
3. Ho Kin-yip, then director and Technical Director of Prestige;
4. Ng Yeuk, then director and Registered Inspector of Will Power;
5. Hung Kwok-wai, friend of Wong Hap-yin;
6. Chung So-fan, wife of Wong Hap-yin;
7. Li Min, employee of Will Power;
8. Will Power; and
9. Prestige.
The Police laid charges against three individuals and two companies with jointly five counts of manslaughter
On June 10, 2016, Wang Fuk Court received a statutory notice under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme. In this connection, through respective tendering processes, Will Power was appointed for preparing a building inspection report and monitoring the repair works; Prestige was appointed for carrying out the prescribed repair works.
Following careful study of the case details and a comprehensive review of numerous documents and statements from parties concerned, the Police revealed that the companies and persons-in-charge responsible for the major renovation project are suspected of serious breach of duty of care, resulting in gross negligence in the supervision of construction materials and procedures. Investigation revealed that issues arising from the repair works include the use of non-fire-retardant safety nets and canvases; the use of flammable foam boards; and the creation of window openings at the fire escape routes of staircases for workers’ access to the external wall scaffolding. These construction arrangements are suspected of severely compromising the fire safety of the buildings, causing the fire to spread rapidly and obstructing escape routes, resulting in a large number of causalities.
The Regional Crime Unit of New Territories North of the Police is responsible for the investigation of the case. Following legal advice from the DoJ, the Police today charged the three men and the two companies jointly with five counts of manslaughter.
The first defendant, Ho Kin-yip, was then director and Technical Director of Prestige; the second defendant, Ng Yeuk, was then director of Will Power and Registered Inspector for the project; the third defendant, Wong Hap-yin, is the director of Will Power; the fourth and fifth defendants are Prestige and Will Power respectively. The five defendants are suspected of failing to fulfill the duty of care in the supervision of the overall repair works, and ensure that the materials and work procedures complied with the safety standards or relevant legislations, resulting in the rapid spread of fire and severe casualties.
The ICAC laid charges against seven individuals and two companies with 20 counts of conspiracy to defraud, “money laundering”, attempting to pervert the course of public justice and tax evasion
After the Wang Fuk Court fire, the ICAC set up a task force to launch a full investigation into possible corruption in the residential estate’s major renovation project. The task force gathered evidence from multiple sources and achieved breakthroughs, discovering fraudulent practices across various stages of the project. Some individuals are also suspected of laundering crime proceeds derived from alleged corruption.
Based on the evidence currently gathered and pursuant to legal advice from the DoJ, the ICAC today laid charges against seven individuals, Will Power, the project consultancy firm in Wang Fuk Court’s major renovation project, and Prestige, the main contractor for the project, with a total of 20 offences. These comprise three counts of conspiracy to defraud, five counts of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence (commonly known as “money laundering”), two counts of attempting to do an act tending or intended to pervert the course of public justice, and 10 counts of offences relating to tax evasion.
The charges mainly cover four areas: (1) fraud in tendering process; (2) fraud in project supervision; (3) “money laundering” by project consultancy firm’s director; and (4) attempting to pervert the course of public justice in ICAC’s investigation.
Area 1: Fraud in the tendering process of Wang Fuk Court’s major renovation project
(involving two counts of conspiracy to defraud)
One of the charges alleges that between May 2023 and April 2024, during the tender exercise for Wang Fuk Court’s major renovation project, Will Power’s director Wong Hap-yin, two directors of Prestige, Hau Wa-kin and Ho Kin-yip, as well as Will Power and Prestige conspired together to defraud the Incorporated Owners and flat owners of Wang Fuk Court by concealing the litigation records of Prestige in the preceding eight years and inflating the score given to Prestige in the tender analysis report, thereby inducing flat owners of Wang Fuk Court to vote for Prestige and causing Prestige to be awarded the major renovation project at a contract sum of over $300 million.
Another charge alleges that during the same period, Will Power’s director Wong Hap-yin, Will Power and an employee of the company conspired together to defraud the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) by causing a tender analysis report containing false information to be published onto the URA’s electronic platform for access by flat owners of Wang Fuk Court, facilitating the award of the major renovation project.
Area 2: Fraud in project supervision at Wang Fuk Court and other estates
(involving one count of conspiracy to defraud)
Another charge relates to 86 building maintenance projects conducted by Will Power between August 2023 and November 2025, including that of Wang Fuk Court. It is alleged that Will Power and its director Wong Hap-yin and Registered Inspector Ng Yeuk, as well as Wong Hap-yin’s friend Hung Kwok-wai conspired together to defraud the Buildings Department and the Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Bureau by falsely representing that Ng Yeuk would carry out or had carried out his statutory duties to inspect and supervise the 86 projects, and signed some of the relevant reports under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme. In fact, Ng Yeuk had not duly carried out his statutory duties as Registered Inspector.
Area 3: “Money laundering” by project consultancy firm’s director
(involving five counts of “money laundering” and 10 counts of tax evasion)
In the past six years between 2019 and 2025, Will Power secured project consultancy contracts for multiple housing estates, including Wang Fuk Court. The five “money laundering” charges allege that during this period, Will Power’s director Wong Hap-yin, his wife Chung So-fan and Will Power’s employee Li Min dealt with various sums of crime proceeds suspected to be originated from corruption involving cash totalling over $40 million through Will Power’s bank accounts and their personal bank accounts. Most of the cash deposited into Will Power’s account was not supported by business records or receipts explaining their sources.
Ten other charges against Wong Hap-yin and Will Power allege that Will Power evaded tax for the years of assessment 2022/23 and 2024/25 by making false statements in the tax returns regarding the company’s turnovers and false accounting, etc.
Area 4: Attempting to pervert the course of public justice in ICAC’s investigation
(involving two counts of attempting to pervert the course of public justice)
The two remaining charges allege that Hung Kwok-wai attempted to pervert the course of public justice. It is alleged that on November 27, 2025, after the ICAC announced it had launched a criminal investigation into Wang Fuk Court’s major renovation project, Hung Kwok-wai and Will Power’s director Wong Hap-yin concealed a bag containing cash of totalling $600,000 (suspected to be part of the bribes offered by Prestige to Wong Hap-yin), and incited Ng Yeuk to make false representations to the Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Bureau.
The two cases were adjourned to September 2, 2026 for mention at the West Magistrates’ Courts. As the relevant investigations by the Police and the ICAC are continuing, further law enforcement actions would not be ruled out.
A then deputy general manager of a listed company and his parents were earlier charged by the ICAC with bribery for showing favour to an Australian businessman regarding the listed company’s investments in overseas property development projects, involving bribes amounting to about AUD$25 million. The Eastern Magistrates’ Courts today (June 3) approved the prosecution’s application to amend the indictment, laying an additional bribery charge against the then deputy general manager and his mother while the case is pending committal to the High Court.
Ng Wai, 46, then deputy general manager of Beijing Capital Land Limited (BCL, delisted); and his mother Han Shang-min, 75, were earlier charged with one count of conspiracy for an agent to accept advantage, contrary to section 9(1)(b) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance. Ng Wai’s father, Ng Cho-wong, 77, was charged with two counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept advantage last Thursday (May 28).
The three defendants appeared today at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts for mention in two cases. Principal Magistrate Mr David Cheung Chi-wai approved the prosecution’s application to amend the indictment against Ng Wai and Han Shang-min, and to lay an additional bribery charge against them. The trio currently face two counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept advantage.
The principal magistrate also approved the prosecution’s application to consolidate the two cases and commit the case to the High Court for plea. The case was adjourned to July 13 for return day at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts, and the defendants were granted bail.
BCL was listed on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited from June 2003 to September 2021. At the material time, Ng Wai served as the deputy general manager of BCL, and also as the general manager of BCL’s branch in Australia.
The two charges allege that between June 2014 and November 2021, the three defendants conspired together to accept bribes totalling AUD$22 million and an investment opportunity contract, making a profit of about AUD$3 million, from an Australian businessman for Ng Wai to show favour to the Australian businessman and his associated companies in relation to BCL’s business.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquiries revealed that following Ng Wai’s recommendations, BCL invested in various property development projects in Australia worth approximately AUD$820 million in total since 2014. Most of these projects were developed by companies associated with the Australian businessman.
The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Jeff Chow.
The ICAC earlier charged a then deputy general manager of a listed company and his mother with bribery for showing favour to an Australian businessman regarding the listed company’s investments in overseas property development projects. Following further investigation by the Commission and legal advice from the Department of Justice, the father of the then deputy general manager was charged for his role in the corruption scheme involving bribes amounting to about AUD$25 million.
Ng Cho-wong, 77, was charged last Thursday (May 28) with two counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept advantage, contrary to section 9(1)(b) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance. He was released on ICAC bail, pending his appearance at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts for mention on Wednesday (June 3).
Ng Wai, 46, Ng Cho-wong’s son and then deputy general manager of Beijing Capital Land Limited (BCL, delisted); and Han Shang-min, 75, Ng Cho-wong’s wife, were earlier jointly charged by the ICAC with one count of conspiracy for an agent to accept advantage. Their case was scheduled for mention on Wednesday at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts.
BCL was listed on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited from June 2003 to September 2021. At the material time, Ng Cho-wong’s son, Ng Wai, served as the deputy general manager of BCL, and also as the general manager of BCL’s branch in Australia.
The two charges against Ng Cho-wong allege that he conspired with Ng Wai and Han Shang-min between June 2014 and November 2021 to accept bribes totalling AUD$22 million and an investment opportunity contract, making a profit of about AUD$3 million, from an Australian businessman for Ng Wai to show favour to the Australian businessman and his associated companies in relation to BCL’s business.
The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquiries revealed that following Ng Wai’s recommendations, BCL invested in various property development projects in Australia worth approximately AUD$820 million in total since 2014. Most of these projects were developed by companies associated with the Australian businessman.
